Brooks Wade
Is it spring? For most, the spring equinox is the first day of spring. For some, including meteorologists, it’s March 1. Kay and I claimed March 1 as the first day of spring when we first moved here, to the shores of Lake Jocassee. We jumped in the lake on that first day of Spring. Once. And some even claim the first day of Daylight Savings as the first day of Spring, but surely not those lonely school children standing the pitch dark, waiting for their school bus to arrive. For me, the first day of spring is when the Bonaparte’s Gulls begin to arrive. We have a few that winter over, but most show up, right on time, just about this time of year. In fact, they are predictable visitors in fall and spring, preceding and announcing the arrival of loons in both seasons. And they are not just the smallest and most beautiful of all gulls in their winter plumage. Such a sound they make! Surely the strangest of all gull sounds. ~B
Give it a listen here: